Starbucks' Lemon Pound Cake w /Icing

We love Starbucks' Lemon Pound Cake so I Googled it and found this recipe by Todd Wilbur Here
The only thing I changed was to add 1 zested lemon to the cake batter.   You could also add one to the glaze.
He also forgot to tell you to add the vegetable oil.





Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 lemon zested (optional)
Icing:
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Use an electric mixer to blend together eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients into a well-greased 9X5" loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean. Make the lemon icing by combining ingredients in a small bowl with electric mixer on low speed.
When lemon loaf is cool, remove it from the pan and frost the top with the lemon icing. When the icing has set, slice the loaf into eight 1-inch-thick slices.

Ham Quiche

I made ham for our Easter meal and used the left-overs for several different things.  I made a soup which I have already posted Here
This was the quiche I made with more left-over ham.  I used Tyler Florence's recipe and adapted it to what I had on hand. His recipe is Here  The following is what I did.





Ingredients:
pie crust
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
6 eggs
1 pint heavy cream
2 cups ham
1 zucchini
1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Method:
Either make your favorite pie crust or buy one, like I did. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large skillet add 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to medium heat. Add onion and cook until carmelized (it takes about 20 minutes).  Add the ham and zucchini. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Put this mixture into an uncooked pie crust.  Mix eggs and milk together and add salt and pepper. Pour over the ham mixture and bake for 1 hour covered with aluminum foil. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15-30 minutes until the filling is solid.













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Custard-Filled Eclairs

We had chocolate eclairs at Becky and Bill Millers house. They were awesome. I made the mistake of thinking that I could make them even better by making my own custard instead of using her recipe.  BIG MISTAKE!  Don't ever try to make an awesome dessert even better. I am going to give you Becky's recipe which came from B.J. Wachel. Stick with this because it is really good and much easier.



Ingredients for Eclairs:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Method:
Bring 1 cup of water and 1 stick of butter to a boil. Add 1 cup of flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball.  Let cool. Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time.  Drop the dough onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes until light brown.

Ingredients for the Custard Filling:
1--6oz. box vanilla instant pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method:
Beat the milk and vanilla pudding together until smooth. Add softened cream cheese and beat until incorporated and smooth.

Chocolate topping:
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Method:
Heat the whipping cream until hot, but not boiling. (You can do it on the stove top or in the microwave)  Take it off the heat and add the chocolate chips. Continue stirring until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It said to use mint chocolate chips.  I used Andes, Crème De Menthe Baking Chips. They turned out really good. I made up 1/2 the recipe to take to San Antonio, and froze the other 1/2.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pinterest







Printable Version
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Mint Chocolate Baking Pieces- (I used Andes, Crème De Menthe Baking Chips)
Method:
1. Mix flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth.
3. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk
4. Add vanilla.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon.
6. Fold in the mint chocolate baking pieces.
7. Chill for 1 hour--(I did not do this and they turned out great)
8. Remove from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside
10. Roll the dough into balls. Place balls with about 3 Tablespoons of dough in each ball.
11. Bake 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This recipe came from The Express News in San Antonio, TX. It was submitted by Chris Dunn.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1-2 tablespoons peanut or other high temperature oil, divided use
1 1/2 cups shitake or button mushrooms, chopped
1 - 5-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, bones and skin removed, small diced
3 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
salt and pepper to taste
8 large whole iceberg lettuce leaves
Stir Fry Sauce:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions:
1. When the pan is very hot, add mushrooms and saute for about 30 seconds.
2. Add additional 1 tablespoon oil, if needed; then add water chestnuts and saute, while stirring for 30 seconds longer.
3. Add chicken, green onions, and garlic to pan and saute for a few seconds.
4. Add Stir-fry Sauce to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stirring constantly until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Transfer to a warm bowl.
5. Place the bowl with the chicken filling on a platter surrounded by lettuce leaves. Let each person take a lettuce leaf, top it with filling and drizzle with desired amount of Sriracha sauce. Roll up and enjoy.
Note: If using shitake mushrooms, discard the woody stems before chopping.
For Stir Fry Sauce: Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and seasme oil together in a small bowl.
I did not use the Sriracha sauce:

Drip Beef Sandwiches



 



I found this recipe on Food Network's Pioneer Woman. She doesn't make anything bad. I made a few changes which I will note.

Ree Drummond's Drip Beef Sandwiches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ingredients:
One-- 4-pound chuck roast

Salt and Black pepper
 3 tablespoons butter

     2 tablespoons canola oil

    2 cups beef broth

    2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or 1 package of Italian dressing mix

    One-- 16 ounce jar pepperoncini, juice and all

   2 yellow onion, sliced ( one was enough for us)

    10-12 toasted, buttered deli rolls--or favorite cheese ( I used fontina cheese)

Directions:

Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and the canola oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Sear both sides of the chuck roast until browned, about 5 minutes in all. Pour in the beef broth and 1 cup of water. I didn't use the water because I cooked it in the crock pot and it didn't need the extra liquid. Add the rosemary, or Italian dressing mix , and pepperoncini with their juices. Now cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender and falling apart, 4-5 hours. I cooked mine in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours.

 

Meanwhile, heat the skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onions and sauté until light golden brown. Set aside.

 

Remove the roast from the pot and shred the meat completely using two forks. Return the meat to the cooking liquid and keep warm.  Before I shredded the meat, I took out enough for dinner and made side dishes to go with it.  Then I shredded the rest of the meat, removed the pepperoncini, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day for lunch, I removed the pot and removed the grease. I warmed the meat and put the pepperoncini back in the meat. I cut off the stems.

 

To serve, slice wedges out of the tops of the deli rolls. Heap a generous portion of meat on each roll, and then spoon some of the cooking liquid over the meat. Top with a few peppers from the pot and plenty of caramelized onions. Top the sandwiches with the wedges of roll and serve. I toasted my bread with a little cheese on the bottom of the roll. Then I put the meat on each roll. I found that it didn't need any of the liquid because the meat had been in the liquid and it made the sandwiches harder to eat with the extra liquid. After the caramelized onions, you can add a little extra cheese if you are so inclined.

 

 

 

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

I found this recipe on pinterest. I think it would be especially good for children who love tacos, but have a hard time eating the hard shell.  The following is a link to the blog from Pinterest. http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/10647185/taco-stuffed-pasta-shells/

 Printable Version

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

1--4oz. package cream cheese

12 large pasta shells

1 cup salsa

1 cup taco sauce ( I didn't use this because the ground meat had taco seasoning in it and the salsa gave it something so it wouldn't stick to the bottom.)

1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (grated)

1 1/2 cups tortilla chips (crushed) I didn't use this because I served chips and guacamole on the side

3 green onions (chopped) for garnish

1 cup sour cream

1. In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning. Prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese. Cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to cool. Cook the pasta shells, drain and toss well with butter.

2. Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9" X 13" baking dish.

3. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.

4. Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips if using and shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives or whatever you like on your tacos.